Enrollment
150
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cardwell, MO
Southland Elem.
Federal NCES profile for Southland Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 292862001769
👥 S:T ratio 33
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 25
📋 Attendance 47
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southland Elem. earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Missouri schools.
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.7:1
- large classes for Missouri
- 98.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 150
- students enrolled
Southland Elem. has class sizes larger than 91% of Missouri schools. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Southland C-9 · Missouri
NCES ID 292862001769 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
+30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
98.0%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
+113% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southland Elem. compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southland Elem.
Southland Elem. is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cardwell, Missouri, enrolling 150 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.7:1 is larger than about 91% of Missouri schools and 30% above the 12.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 98.0% of students qualify for free meals, 113% above the Missouri average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 150 puts it in the smaller third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 92% of the 2,313 Missouri schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 80 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Missouri schools statewide, it ranks #66, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (79%) and Hispanic or Latino (19%) (diversity index 34/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 375 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 34.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, Southland C-9, also runs Southland High (112 students).
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Southland Elem. compares
Southland Elem. on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.7:1 | ▲ 30% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 98.0% | ▲ 113% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 150 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.7:1
Leaner classes than 33% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
150
Bigger than 15% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
98.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 113% above the Missouri average of 46.1%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher
- 30% above state mean
Top 91% in Missouri - lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,725
per pupil, district-wide
- above Missouri avg of $12,931
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.4 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 79.3%
Hispanic or Latino 18.7%
Two or More 2.0%
Largest group: White at 79.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.6, Southland Elem. is more mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southland C-9, which includes Southland Elem..
$14,725
Per student
+14%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.7%
State 39.6%
Federal 34.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Southland Elem. Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southland High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southland Elem.'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 112
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~150 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southland Elem.'s federal record.
- Compare Southland Elem. against another school. Compare schools
- Southland C-9's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Southland Elem.
How many students attend Southland Elem.?
Southland Elem. has 150 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cardwell, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southland Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Southland Elem. is 16.7:1, which is 30% higher than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southland Elem.?
98.0% of students at Southland Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southland Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Southland Elem. is White at 79.3% of enrollment, in Cardwell, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southland Elem.?
Southland Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Southland Elem. a good school?
Southland Elem. earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Missouri schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Southland C-9?
Besides Southland Elem., Southland C-9 also operates Southland High (112 students). See the Southland C-9 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.